Tawny Owl is an owl who makes the journey from Farthing Wood to White Deer Park in both the books and the TV series. In the TV series, the character is known simply as Owl, a name which is also used frequently in the books. Tawny Owl is male in the books, but Owl is female in the TV series.

Tawny Owl is a respected member of the group, but acts in a very pompous and cynical manner and is often critical of all the other animals to the point where he doesn't show any sign of remorse whenever a member of the group dies. Although he respects Fox, he often feels that he should have been elected as leader of the group instead, something that is often noticed by Adder, who enjoys teasing him about it. Despite this, Tawny Owl is very loyal, always helping the group in any way possible when Fox asks him to, although he does not like to be given direct orders.

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Tawny Owl gathers the other birds together and brings them to the assembly. On the trunk road he distracts the human who takes interest in Toad so that Fox can head back to rescue him. While they are on the army land, he shows the animals to the marshland so they can all take a drink. He also distracts the human firefighters with Kestrel so Fox can head back to rescue Mole and bring him back to the group. In the farm storeroom it is Tawny Owl's idea that the animals dig their way to safety, and he later volunteers to collect Adder after the animals leave him behind. When Fox goes missing Tawny Owl believes that he should become the new leader, but he does not dispute when Badger takes over leadership of the party.

Tawny Owl is responsible for flying ahead for the group during night hours, and he is the first to realise when Toad is leading the group around in circles. He tells Toad that his homing instinct is leading him back to Farthing Wood and promises to help him remember the way by telling him what is ahead. While on the farm fields, Tawny Owl warns the group that the land has been poisoned and tries to explain why the poison does not kill the humans, but he struggles to keep up his knowledgeable status within the group. When Kestrel and Whistler are providing a spectacle for the naturalist, Tawny Owl refuses to join them in making a exhibition of himself. At the end of the journey Tawny Owl arrives safely at White Deer Park with the majority of the other animals.

Tawny Owl is one of the first to predict the harshness of the animals' first winter in the park. He is particularly scathing towards Badger's idea that the animals should all go to live with the Warden and suggests that they should all leave Badger to it instead of trying to convince him to return. Tawny Owl and the other birds help the other animals by finding food outside the park, and later transport food to the park from the town after a group of animals go on a successful expedition to scavenge there.

Tawny Owl discovers that the animals have not bothered to tell him that the trips to collect food from the town have been stopped, and he flies away from the park to sulk, without warning the others about the arrival of the poachers. When he sees that two foxes have been killed he immediately regrets his actions and exhausts himself looking for Fox and Vixen, eventually collapsing on the ground. He is discovered by Kestrel who apologises for the trick he played, and Tawny Owl is relieved to discover that Fox and Vixen are alive and well.

When Scarface takes an interest in Fox and Vixen's cubs, Tawny Owl and Badger confront him and force him to leave the area, but they fear they may have made an enemy of him in the process. Tawny Owl is part of the group that follows Fox and his family into Scarface's territory to look for Bold, and flies ahead with Kestrel to see what is going on. When strong winds blow through the park Tawny Owl has an argument with Weasel about who is most affected by the wind and whether Kestrel's flying is as skillful as Owl's.

During the feud with Scarface, Tawny Owl is one of the strongest proponents for attacking him to get revenge for the losses the animals have suffered, but Fox is much more cautious in his approach. When the other animals talk about integrating themselves within White Deer Park by mating with some of the park's inhabitants, Tawny Owl is asked whether he has any plans to mate and becomes embarrassed by the conversation, refusing to commit himself either way.

When the animals start to suspect there may be a creature terrorising animals outside the park, Tawny Owl and Whistler begin to keep a lookout for it. When it becomes clear that the creature has entered the park, the birds start to search within the boundaries of the reserve. One day after searching, Tawny Owl falls asleep and wakes up to the sight of The Beast's head. He reports the sighting to the other animals, making out that he has seen more than he actually has.

When the other animals agree to pretend that Mossy is really Mole, Tawny Owl refuses to play along. After the animals' investigation of the Beast's lair by the stream, Tawny Owl pursues the cat and finds it lying in a ditch near the park's boundary. He tells the cat how terrified the park's inhabitants are of it and the Beast makes a pledge that they will never see it again, and if they do it will leave the park for good. Tawny Owl informs the other animals of this pledge and they all keep a look out for the Beast. One day Tawny Owl sees the Beast digging for Mossy and tells it that it has been seen so it must yield, but the cat refuses to honour the pledge. However the Beast soon leaves the park to answer the mating call of a female cat and the animals celebrate together.

The following spring Weasel makes several jibes about the fact that Tawny Owl has never mated. Owl flies away but Rusty and Pace continue to tease him until Charmer arrives and intervenes. However when she refers to Tawny Owl's situation as a "misfortune" he gets angry and leaves the park determined to show the other animals that he can find a mate.

Tawny Owl reaches the church in which the animals stayed during their journey to White Deer Park and rests in the belfry, but several bats arrive and feel threatened by Owl's presence in their home. Tawny Owl tries to reason with them and tells them he means them no harm but they refuse to listen. He tells them who he is and promises to extend the oath to them, but the bats are puzzled by this and silently try to work it out, which finally allows Tawny Owl to sleep. The following morning he decides to return to Farthing Wood to see what has become of it since the animals left.

Tawny Owl flies through the rookery copse where the animals rested on their journey, but none of the rooks recognise him and see him as a threat to their chicks. Owl is forced to leave the copse and arrives at Farthinghurst, but he sees no trees in which to roost so he flies into an open attic window. The window is blown shut and a black cat called Sooty arrives in the attic followed by a small boy. Tawny Owl flies down the stairs and tries to find a way out of the house, eventually squeezing through a small window. He lands on the Great Beech and realises that it is the last remnant of the old Farthing Wood.

While in Farthinghurst Tawny Owl meets a female owl whom he names Holly. He tells her who he is and the great journey he and his friends made from Farthing Wood to White Deer Park. Holly decides to test Owl's feelings towards her by inventing another owl who she says is interested in her and one day Tawny Owl flies off to chase this owl away. As he flies Tawny Owl becomes caught in a nylon net and lands on a wet concrete driveway. He manages to fly back to the beech, but the concrete dries up and he is unable to fly. Holly tells him the truth about the other owl and is forced to hunt for him as he is unable to fly.

As autumn arrives a hurricane sweeps through Farthinghurst and Tawny Owl falls off the Great Beech as the wind blows it over, and he lands on the soft ground. The fall causes the concrete to break and Owl is able to fly again. He immediately decides to return to White Deer Park with Holly, but she insists on catching his food for him so he doesn't get tired out. Tawny Owl tries to show her he can hunt for himself and catches a mouse, but he tires himself out and cannot fly back to their roost, receiving a scolding from Holly when she finds him. They eventually arrive at the church and Tawny Owl spots Badger resting beside it. He discovers that Badger has become homeless and convinces him to return to the reserve, and eventually all three return to White Deer Park.

When Weasel and Plucky go missing, Tawny Owl is reluctant to join the rescue party because he has to help Holly look after their newborn chicks, but Badger convinces him to join despite Holly's objections. Tawny Owl enters the new reserve and calls for Weasel, but Plucky arrives instead and goes to fetch Weasel. The three animals discuss the situation but none has any idea how to escape from the reserve so Tawny Owl is forced to leave.

When the rats are discovered, Tawny Owl kills as many of them as he can and brings them back to the nest to feed the owlets. He also feasts on several rats himself and gradually gains weight until he is so heavy that he is unable to fly properly. Eventually Holly decides that once the owlets are fully grown, she will no longer associate herself with Tawny Owl as he has become greedy and uninterested in her, and Owl is quite happy for the two of them to part.

During the final battle against the rats, Tawny Owl is alerted by Holly that the rats have arrived and they, along with their three fully-grown owlets, swoop down and attack the rats as they swarm into the Hollow. During the battle Weasel becomes overrun by the rats and unable to fight back, so Tawny Owl swoops in and saves his friend from certain death.